Trump says PM Modi is ‘great friend’, vows full support to India

US President Donald Trump on Sunday night said India could count on the United States “100 per cent” and described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “great” friend during an event celebrating the 250th anniversary of American independence.

The event at Bharat Mandapam was attended by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Ambassador Sergio Gor.

The highlight of the evening was a performance by AR Rahman.

“I just want to say hello to everybody. I love the Prime Minister, (Narendra) Modi is great, he is my friend and I just want to say a very good evening to everybody,” Trump said in a phone conversation with Gor.

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“I am a big, big fan of Prime Minister Modi,” he said.

The US ambassador held his phone to a microphone so the audience could hear Trump’s remarks.

“We’ve never been closer to India and India can count on me 100 per cent and our country,” the US president said. “If they ever need help, they know where to call — they call right here.”

Trump also said the US economy was performing strongly.

“We’re doing well, we’re setting records. We’ve a record economy, a record stock market,” he said.

Rahman performed songs including “Dil Se”, “Maa Tujhe Salaam” and “Tere Bina” during the event.

In his remarks, Trump also described Rubio as the “greatest secretary of state in the history of the US” and concluded by saying: “Say hello to Prime Minister Modi and let him know I’m a big fan.”

In his brief address, Rubio described India as a key partner of the United States.

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Jaishankar said the US Declaration of Independence articulated ideas that shaped the modern world, including individual liberty, rule of law, free speech and accountable governance, and said their resonance in India was natural because of the country’s history as a pluralistic society with a consultative ethos.

The experiences of the US independence movement were taken into account by the makers of India’s Constitution and the affinities between the two countries have grown with deeper economic and technology ties, Jaishankar said.

The shared traits of being political democracies, market economies and open societies have been strengthened by a convergence of national interests and this has enabled both sides to overcome the “hesitations of history”, the external affairs minister said.

He also said the Indian diaspora in the US had helped build political understanding between the two countries.

Jaishankar said the world was going through an era of transition and that it made a strong case for the India-US relationship to grow stronger.

“Both nations gave a common interest in de-risking the global economy and providing the world with more choices,” he said.

There was also a celebration of Rubio’s birthday and the evening concluded with a performance by Village People.